The Singularity is Coming: The Artificial Intelligence Explosion

by Tony Thorne

The Singularity is Coming.

Will humanity survive?
Many scientists predict that as early as 2024 an unprecedented event will happen that will completely change our lives. They aren't talking about global warming or nuclear war, but technological singularity. They predict that a computer with artificial general intelligence (AGI) will be able to program its own software and redesign itself. This superintelligence will exceed all human understanding and will be beyond our control.

In non-technical language, The Singularity is Coming clarifies what may happen and speculates about how it may affect us. It is a compilation of information that includes comments from experts, news announcements of the latest developments, and a comprehensive reading list.

In the Facts to Prophetic Fiction section is a collection of speculative science fiction pieces and short stories Are we on the threshold of a new golden age or are we facing disaster?
Some scientists are optimistic about the singularity and predict the new intelligence will create amazing advances. It may bring about longer, healthier lives, an end to crime, and a solution to world hunger. Others wonder where our place would be in the new order. Will this superintelligence include benevolence? Will it want to coexist with us? Are we on the verge of a new beginning for humanity, or the end of life as we know it? Read The Singularity is Coming and you can decide for yourself.

Genres: Artificial Intelligence, Science, Nonfiction, Technology, Futurism

190 pages, ebook

First published September 12, 2014

About the author

Tony Thorne MBE, a Chartered Design Engineer, built up a research and development company in Kent, England. Its eventual worldwide commercial success led to him being awarded the MBE by the Queen. Now retired, he writes speculative, science and fantasy, fiction and has published over fifteen collections of short stories, including the award winning TENERIFE TALL TALES trilogy, and MACABRE TALES. Also ROBOTS INCLUDED, TALL SF TALES FOR TEENAGERS, THREE KINDS OF CULTURE SHOCK, all now available, as eBooks and paperbacks from AMAZON, B & N, WH Smith, etc.. His first novel, POINTS OF VIEW (near future espionage) was published in the USA, by Eternal Press, Santa Rosa, CA, They also accepted Book 2 but were taken over soon after. Then things fell apart and after nearly 2 years of no, or inadequate, progress, he accepted their offer to self-publish the series himself, with a new cover theme. Books 1 to 3 are now available from Amazon (eBook and paperback) and Book 4 will be later in 2018.

Reviews

[SilverLining · Rating 5 out of 5]

The concept of artificial intelligence taking over humanity, or THE Singularity, is not a new idea. Classic science fiction novels, comics, TV, and movies played on the fears of invasions of robots, cyborgs, and other invaders bent to destroy human beings and take over the world. Those who survived fought to maintain control. I grew up wondering if a scenario like The Terminator could really happen, in which a computer and its creation of cyborgs could ever be more than entertainment. Also, could we even stop the progression of taking technology and intelligence to a higher level, that is to a point that we do not have to do anything laborious because computers will do it for us? Tony Thorne's book The Singularity is Coming addresses these concerns and beyond with factual detail and personal accounts to the progress artificial intelligence has made. His prediction based on expert forecasts of a disaster greater than global warming and nuclear war. I have read many of his speculative fiction stories, and have awed with his creativity and imagination in crafting a probable society in which we are comfortable with the common use of robots, cyborgs, androids, and other artificial intelligence that was more of a fantasy even 50 years ago. This book takes into account his research in the area and puts it into perspective that is more likely now than it has ever been before. You will enjoy reading in his voice and truly contemplate the future of the singularity.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE SINGULARITY IS COMING by Tony Thorne. Artificial Intelligence seemed science fiction when we were kids. However as we see the advances in technology it doesn’t seem so fiction.
You can tell the author has conducted a tremendous amount of research and thought on this topic. He has the ability to share it in terms that the layman can understand.
He shares what it is and possible alternatives for how it could play out.
The author goes on the share information from other publications and states which ones he considers to be leading. He shares his opinion on addition information from other individuals researching AI and its impact.
There is some fascinating information in this book. I think anyone would benefit from reading it and thinking about all the possibilities out there.
For authors, I can see this opening up so many possibilities for plot lines.
Tony also provides links to additional reading material throughout the book if you want to dive into specific topics.
The fiction section is where the author shares sections of his earlier fiction works before it was a possibility. I found the fiction sections interesting and they help but into everyday life how it the AI could impact us.

[Tania Barlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thought-provoking read.
Literally mind-boggling, this book explores what will become of mankind if we continue our developments of AI or Artificial Intelligence. Is this endless quest for development a good idea? Will the robots pf the future merely be our assistants or will they take over? A good read.

[Taylor Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I read through it in about a day because it was so great. The author touches base on many interesting topics. The writing is easy to follow and very insightful. It's not everyday that I am able to find a book like this. I think the best part about this book was that it was so thought-provoking. It's been days since I read the book, but I'm still thinking of the issues that were presented in it. I'm recommending it to a few of my friends since I enjoyed it so much!

[YHC · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was a short book that collected all the information from the news about the current development of AI.
I have learned here AGI and ASI (Artificial General intelligence and Artificial Super intelligence), mot of our development so far still remains on AGI, like the movie "Ex Machina" shows and the author considered a must-watch about AI movie.
I feel the author is more like taking side of we need to be cautious about the development of AI, specially when it reaches the quantum level.

below is some part i copied from book..
目前已经取得了很多重大进步，如GPU运用并行运算大幅提升了性能，这不仅仅体现在绘图方面，也包括神经网络，而神经元是人脑结构的基本组成部分。目前3D芯片正在开发，它可将电路包装到各层。IBM和美国国防部先进研究项目局（Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency）正在开发认知计算芯片。砷化镓、碳纳米管和石墨烯等新材料很可能取代硅。接着是最有趣（而又可怕）的技术：量子计算。
“编码信息将不再像目前的计算机一样非0即1，量子计算机将采用量子比特或量子位，利用量子叠加和纠缠现象进行各种编码。眼下需要计算机运行数千年才能完成的计算，届时几分钟内即可完成。”
运用人工智能推动硬件进步，届时我们将渐渐明白为什么埃隆·马斯克、斯蒂芬·霍金和比尔·盖茨等杰出人物会对创造“超级智慧生物”表现得如此担忧了。马斯克担心我们会召唤恶魔霍金说这会导致人类灭亡；而盖茨表示他不明白为什么有些人表现得漠不关心。

...................
“在多极世界中，人类时刻面临人口暴增的风险。人们可以瞬间复制数字思维，但却复制不了人类思维，从婴儿到成人需要数十年时间。数字思维可以快速增长，费用跌至最低保障线，很可能远远低于生物大脑。人类将无法继续通过工作养活自己，很有可能会走向灭亡。或者，如果以某种方式继续保持社会结构，部分人必然能够通过超级智能获得巨大的投资回报，这些人可以利用资金购买更多的计算机硬件以便运行更大规模的数字思维。”
——Nick Bostrom教授，牛津大学

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[Martin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wonder who gave it such high rantings. It reads more like a collection of notes than a structured book. There is no red thread in this book and the content is nothing that other people haven't already talked about.

[Larak · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a futuristic or dystopian fiction ebook, but calling it 'science fiction' would be an insult because the assertions author makes are not just idle speculations a science fiction writer makes in his cocoon, but rather stuff which are backed by solid proof gleaned from the present. After reading this ebook, I would not be surprised if a Terminator-like creature is really invented someday. In fact, the seeds of the same are being sown right at present, as the author says; the machines which we find helpful today may metamorphose into something more powerful which can think and act on their own with little human help (to illustrate his point, the author gives an example of a machine which can beat even the world champions at the game of chess).

Yes, I believe this and many other strange things that the author mentions CAN happen. However, I am not as paranoid as the author sounds. I believe that whatever may come in future, goodness and virtue will always take over the evil (no, I am not hopelessly optimistic; I draw this conclusion from my life experiences). We certainly cannot control the future fully, but we can always hope for the best.

I would still suggest that you read it because it is good to be aware of what the future holds for us (the bright and not-so-bright stuff). The writing style is not full of jargon but written in simple and straightforward language any layman can decipher easily without a dictionary by his side. The story of Clayton included in here was interesting, as was the recommended reading list. I couldn't however, give it 5-stars due to its somewhat pessimistic tone.

[Danielle Goodwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tony Thorne MBE's "The Singularity is Coming: The Artificial Intelligence Explosion" is a standalone short read. It holds a dire prediction for our future. It seems like Mr. Thorne is very well read and he cites a lot of very good literature on the subject of artificial intelligence. In some ways, this is a nice, short digest written in layman's terms for a lot of very heavy duty readings. It was definitely an interesting read and seems to dovetail with what I've been reading from Kurzweil and others. I think it's a great time to go watch movies like Ex Machina and read this book. No time like the present.

[Danielle Goodwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tony Thorne MBE's "The Singularity is Coming: The Artificial Intelligence Explosion" is a standalone short read. It holds a dire prediction for our future. It seems like Mr. Thorne is very well read and he cites a lot of very good literature on the subject of artificial intelligence. In some ways, this is a nice, short digest written in layman's terms for a lot of very heavy duty readings. It was definitely an interesting read and seems to dovetail with what I've been reading from Kurzweil and others. I think it's a great time to go watch movies like Ex Machina and read this book. No time like the present.

[Richard Givan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book examines the idea that we are living on borrowed time until the machines become smarter than we and take over (think Battlestar Gallactica). Actually, some heavy hitters in the world of computers share those concerns. This book is a compendium of ideas and articles, some the author's and some not, that promote the scary notion.